


Food and feminist film and friendship

by literarypeachtea



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Also no clue when this takes place, Characters Watching Movies, Cooking, Gen, Honestly just friendship and fluff, I'm just interested in how T'Pol would view movies and such like that, Sharing traditions/culture, Though you can't really call Silence of the Lambs a feminist movie, but it's their jumping off point and i want to write about them discussing more movies, is this a vehicle for me to examine movies through a feminist lens? perhaps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26458216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literarypeachtea/pseuds/literarypeachtea
Summary: A certain type of homesickness combines with a desire to understand Trip's movie references. The result: T'Pol, Hoshi and Liz getting together to make food and watch movies.
Relationships: Elizabeth Cutler & Hoshi Sato & T'Pol
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Food and feminist film and friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just...really love these three, and I love the idea of them sharing aspects of their culture with each other.  
> I think it was after reading "Braids" by [ nonbinaryezrabridger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonbinaryezrabridger/pseuds/nonbinaryezrabridger) that I wanted to write about these three hanging out and watching movies and stuff.  
> Not sure when this takes place, really. I suppose sometime during the first or second season, before things get to heavy.  
> 

It had started with a missed pop culture reference — not at all out of the ordinary on the starship. But the premise intrigued the Vulcan. 

“So, a FBI trainee is sent to interview a highly dangerous sociopath? Why?”

“Well, without spoiling the movie, it’s a good look at the way humans dealt with deviant behavior in the late 20th century,” explained crewman Liz Cutler. “You might enjoy it. It’s also an interesting portrayal of a female protagonist.”

T’Pol raised an eyebrow. “So when Commander Tucker said, ‘Hello, Clarisse,’ he was referring to me as the FBI trainee and himself as the cannibalistic psychiatrist?”

Liz shrugged. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t take it too seriously. It’d be like if he poked his head around that corner right now and said, ‘Here’s Johnny!’”

“Ah, ‘The Shining.’ I still do not understand the human desire to scare oneself,” the Vulcan turned back to her plomeek broth, regarding a spoonful she’d scooped up. 

“That soup not hitting the spot, T’Pol?” asked Hoshi Sato, joining the pair at the table in the mess hall.

“It is providing sufficient nutrition,” she replied, setting the spoon down. “Though I do wish Chef would...expand his Vulcan menu.”

Liz’s eyes lit up. “Do you cook much, T’Pol? I’d love to try more Vulcan dishes!”

T’Pol shook her head. “Not for a while. I have had little need to cook for myself, but I do have some Vulcan staples in my quarters, like spice tea.”

Hoshi shook her head in agreement, poking at her spaghetti with her fork. 

“There’s nothing quite like having a touch of home. I have my _baachan’s_ special green tea mix,” the linguist explained. “But I would kill for some _okonomiyaki_.”

The Vulcan raised her eyebrow almost imperceptibly.

“Perhaps we should find you some.”

Hoshi laughed, waving off the concern. 

“Oh, it’s easy enough to make...” she trailed off, and the lightbulb was almost visible above her head. “T’Pol, Liz, would you both want to do a movie and food night? I’ll make okonomiyaki and we can watch ‘The Silence of the Lambs’?”

Liz smiled broadly. “That sounds great!” she exclaimed, her smile faltering briefly. “But what is okonomiyaki?”

“It literally means ‘to one’s liking,’” Hoshi explained. “It’s basically a savory pancake with whatever you want on it, so we could make it vegetarian for you, T’Pol!”

The Vulcan seemed to contemplate the proposal for a moment, dabbing at her lips with a napkin before speaking. 

“That would be...agreeable,” she eventually said. “The cultural exchange could be beneficial. Though I would like to make a dish for you both, too.”

Liz pulled out her PADD, her fingers flying. “Why don’t we make it a recurring thing? Where we get together and eat food and watch a movie?”

Hoshi nodded excitedly, looking to T’Pol.

“We should not get ahead of ourselves,” the Vulcan said, taking a sip of her tea. “But I would be able to partake in the food and watch the film on Thursday evening.”

The linguist could swear she heard the faintest hint of excitement in T’pol’s voice. 

Liz checked her own calendar. “That works!”

“Well then, Thursday at 7 will be Enterprise’s first Film and Food Festival!” Hoshi declared. “We’ll meet in the kitchen.”

Hoshi was quite proud that she was able to convince Chef to part with some of his precious cake flour, which was necessary in order to make proper okonomiyaki flour.

She’d spent some time preparing ingredients for the pancakes, and at this point, 15 minutes before they were supposed to meet, had amassed an impressive army of small bowls at the prep table. The linguist had even agreed to French lessons for one of the ensigns assigned to hydroponics in exchange for one of the first jalapeños the team had spent so long painstakingly cultivating. 

T’Pol, when she arrived at 7 on the dot, was quite impressed. “Is this what they call going all out?”

Hoshi grinned, proud of her work. Despite her skill with words, one of her favorite ways to express care for people was by cooking with and for them. 

Liz joined them shortly after, red-cheeked and panting. 

“Sorry!” the crewman exclaimed, taking a moment to fasten her short hair back. “We had some regulan bloodworms break containment and, hoo boy, those are the last things you want to wake up in bed with.”

Hoshi winced, before turning to T’Pol, who was at the sink washing her hands. 

“Would you be able to fill that tub in the sink with hot water and soap? Then we can wash the dishes as we finish with them.”

The Vulcan nodded as she dried her hands. “A beneficial strategy,” she commented, sounding somewhat appreciative. 

The linguist bounced on the balls of her feet, excited to begin, and clapped her hands together. “T’Pol, let’s make yours first to avoid any cross contamination!”

The subcommander nodded, surveying the bowls lined up with various fillings and toppings, before picking out shredded cabbage, a couple eggs and mushrooms. Within a few minutes, the batter was cooking in a large, greased pan, and Hoshi was helping Liz pick out her own fillings, helpfully offering suggestions. Once the Vulcan’s okonomiyaki was finished, Hoshi set it on a plate and covered it to keep it warm.

T’Pol munched on some shredded carrot, watching the ensign begin to cook the second batch, the pan large enough to accommodate both.

“You know, there’s really nothing quite like cooking with friends,” Liz remarked from her spot at the sink, where she was washing out bowls with batter remnants.

“I suppose,” T’Pol replied, stepping over to the sink and gesturing to the wet ceramic. “Would you like me to dry them?”

Liz smiled widely. “Why thank you, Subcommander. See, cooking with friends is better. Then you don’t have to wash the dishes by yourself.”

The trio made their way down the hall after ensuring the galley was as clean as Hoshi had found it — perhaps with an extra okonomiyaki wrapped up and stuck in the freezer for Chef, as a thank you for letting them use his space.

They’d decided that this time, Hoshi’s room was probably the best place to host their little soiree, since T’Pol wasn’t too keen on the smell of alien food lingering in her quarters. Besides, the linguist had told them that she had the best sound system on the ship, and Trip had helped her rig up a small screen on the wall behind her desk, perching a small projector on the shelf above her bed.

Hoshi had arranged her pillows so the three of them could comfortably sit up against the wall on the bed, T’Pol and Liz on the outside, and the room’s owner sitting in the middle. While normally the closeness would make her feel a bit claustrophobic, Hoshi didn’t really mind.

“Are we ready?” Hoshi asked the other two, feeling a giddiness she hadn’t felt for a while — an excitement to bond with people over trivial things, no worries about life or death or mistranslating a greeting.

Liz nodded, and T’Pol gave an affirmative, peeling the covering off of her dish as Hoshi turned out the room’s lights before reaching up to turn on the projector. Pulling out her PADD, Hoshi pulled up the movie and pressed play.

As the opening credits rolled, Hoshi nudged T’Pol. “If your food is too cold, I’ve got a hot plate in my locker you can warm it up on.”

T’Pol’s eyebrow raised slightly, no doubt about to make a comment on hot plates being against regulation, before she shook her head. “It is at an edible temperature, but thank you for offering.”

“No problem.”

By the end of the movie, Liz had fallen asleep, slumped against Hoshi. She shifted the entomologist gently as she flicked the lights on, noting T’Pol’s thoughtful expression. 

“What did you think, T’Pol?” Hoshi asked quietly, not wanting to wake Liz just yet.

The Vulcan pursed her lips, exhaling through her nose.

“It was...an interesting exploration of the evils humans are capable of,” she began. “I can understand the appeal of movies like that, though.”

Hoshi nodded.

“During the late 20th Century and early 21st Century on Earth, the concept of ‘true crime’ experienced a renaissance — Buffalo Bill is based on American serial killers, like Ted Bundy and Ed Gein,” she explained. “There was a fascination with how humans can often be scarier than monsters.”

Liz stirred, waking up. “What’d I miss?”

“Not much, Liz, just the end of the movie,” Hoshi laughed. “You’re awake just in time for the class discussion.”

The woman sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

“I’ve seen it before, so it’s not much of a loss,” Liz replied. “It’s a good one for the time, but has issues with representation. It passes the Bechdel Test — two named women talk to each other about something other than men — but barely, and falls into the trope of portraying homosexual characters as predatory.”

“I was joking about the class discussion part, but, yeah, you’re not wrong.”

T’Pol raised an eyebrow. “Are there movies that better portray human culture?”

Hoshi shrugged. “It was a white, male-dominated industry for the first 100 years or so, but as writing rooms and production teams became more diverse, we got deeper, more developed characters with varied experiences.”

“Perhaps we can watch one of those next time we meet,” the Vulcan said as she slid off the bed. “Thank you for suggesting this. It was enjoyable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This really makes me miss my friends and the times we'd make dinner and watch Netflix. Anyway, I wasn't quite sure how to express their discussion or feelings on the film without having it feel like...a research paper, so sorry if that came across as awkward.  
> Let me know if y'all have ideas on the next movie they should watch. Maybe a Studio Ghibli movie at some point ("Princess Mononoke" or "Spirited Away").


End file.
